NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said no citizen can be prosecuted for violation of section 66A of the Information Technology Act. The court noted that the Supreme Court had scrapped the said section that granted government powers of arrest for grossly offensive information posted online. However, it said cases were still being registered.
The bench of CJI UU Lalit, Justices SR Bhat and Ajay Rastogi also directed for deleting the allegations and portions of cases where citizens are still facing prosecution under the stuck down section.
It also asked the home secretaries and director generals of police to ensure that the police force does not register any complaint or crime with respect to alleged violation of section 66A.
Clarifying that this direction only applies with respect to the offences punishable under section 66A, the bench said, “If in the crime in question, other offences are also alleged then only reference and reliance in section 66A alone shall not be made.”
The bench also said readers of any government, semi-government or private publication on the IT Act should be made aware of the fact that section 66A has been struck down by the court. Earlier, SC had asked the Centre to get in touch with the chief secretary of errant states and impress upon them to take remedial measures and had granted the centre three weeks to complete the exercise.
The top court’s order came in a plea filed by NGO People Union for Civil Liberties PUCL which complained that cases under 66A were still being registered irrespective of the court’s clear pronouncement of declaring the draconian law as unconstitutional in Shreya Singhal’s case.
In 2021, a bench headed by Justice RF Nariman remarked that they were “amazed” that FIRs were being filed under the quashed provision. It had issued notice to all the states and had asked the Centre to explain its legal stand.